Georgia Driver's Licenses and SAVE

Georgia Driver's Licenses

Special issues for non U.S. citizens

February 15, 2008 - Updated 9/3/2015

The Georgia Department of Driver's Services (DDS) is only permitted to issue Georgia driver's licenses, permits or identification cards to persons who can prove they are lawfully present in the United States. Licenses will only be issued for the period of authorized stay in the U.S.

This is what you need to know:

If you are not a U.S. citizen, you must make an application for a license (or license renewal) in person
You must present ORIGINAL documents reflecting your identity, residence in Georgia, and authorized stay in the U.S. This will generally include your passport and your I-94, with any extension document.
You may apply to renew your license up to 150 days before it expires.
Driving in Georgia on an expired license, or without a license, is a crime. The Georgia legislature is considering legislation to make it a felony!
As of January 1, 2008, the Georgia Department of Driver Services confirms through SAVE that a non citizen is lawfully present prior to issuing a license or permit.

SAVE

"SAVE" is the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program established by the USCIS. Its purpose is to verify the legal status, and eligibility for certain benefits, of persons in the United States. The USCIS maintains a database which is available to agencies, including the Georgia Department of Driver's Services - SAVE.

Unfortunately, the USCIS does not maintain its data in a single real time database. Rather, the USCIS uses a variety of legacy systems - many of which do not communicate directly with each other - or with any single database. Many USCIS systems are still essentially manual - with information entered into data bases after the fact.

These many databases - of varying completeness and accuracy - are periodically uploaded to SAVE. The result is that the SAVE database is often out of date, often inaccurate and always incomplete.

SAVE and your driver's license

The Georgia DDS will query the SAVE database when you apply for a license or license renewal. If your lawful entry into the United States can be verified through SAVE, the DDS will examine your documents to determine how long you are permitted to remain in the U.S. If the SAVE system shows a period of admission shorter than your documents - the documents are supposed to control.

If the DDS issues you a license with a shorter period of validity, ask to speak to a supervisor. DDS regulations are that SAVE controls determining if your are lawfully admitted to the U.S. - but your documents determine the validity of your stay for driver's license purposes.

If your presence cannot be confirmed through SAVE, a copy of your documents will be made and forwarded by the DDS to the USCIS for confirmation. You will be asked to return to the DDS in 10 days to check on the progress of your application. If confirmation is not obtained at that time, you will be asked to contact the USCIS directly to obtain verification of our status.

It can take 30 days to verify that your presence is lawful through the DDS/USCIS normal processes.

What you can do to avoid/mitigate problems

Apply for any license renewal early. Regulations of the DDS allow you to apply as early as 150 days prior to the expiration of your current license.
Take the proper original documents with you when you apply for your license or renewal.
Insist - as much as possible - that your license be issued for the full term of your admission in the U.S. (If your status does not have an expiration - e.g. student with F-1 d/s - your license will only be issued for one year.)
If you are not in SAVE, consider making an appointment through the USCIS INFOPASS system. You will want to request that DDS complete Form G-845. You will want to take a copy of that form with you to the USCIS office.

If your license expires while your immigration status is pending renewal....

Georgia Law provides that compliance with SAVE is required for issuance of a driver's license to a noncitizen. Ga. Code 40-5-21.2. However, Georgia law also provides that "notwithstanding any other provision" of the law dealing with licenses, a temporary license may be issued to a noncitizen to has valid documentary evidence of their admission to the U.S. in a valid, unexpired nonimmigrant status. Ga. Code 40-5-21.1. A copy of this law is here.

As of January 1, 2014, Georgia law was changed to specifically allow issuance of a temporary drivers permit for 120 days to a noncitizen whose Georgia driver's license has expired or will expire within 30 days "who has filed a request for an extenison with the United States Department of Homeland Security...."

Not all DDS offices are aware of this provision, but DDS regulations have been updated to reflect that 120 extensions will be granted. The DDS regulations is 375-3-2-.01(1)(c)(iii) and may be found here. We have also copied relevant regulations at the bottom of this page. You may want to print them and take them with you when you apply for renewal.

We would like to keep abreast of what is happening in this area. Please let us know about your experience in applying for a license or renewal. Please let us know if you had a problem, if you were able to resolve it - and how.

Jay Solomon

TITLE 40. MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC
CHAPTER 5. DRIVERS' LICENSES
ARTICLE 2. ISSUANCE, EXPIRATION, AND RENEWAL OF LICENSES

O.C.G.A. § 40-5-21.1 (2015)

emphasis added

§ 40-5-21.1. Temporary licenses, permits, or special identification cards; foreign licenses or identification cards as evidence of legal presence in the United States; extensions

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, an applicant who presents in person valid documentary evidence of:

(1) Admission to the United States in a valid, unexpired nonimmigrant status;

(2) A pending or approved application for asylum in the United States;

(3) Admission into the United States in refugee status;

(4) An approved application for temporary protected status in the United States;

(5) Approved deferred action status;

(6) Other federal documentation verified by the United States Department of Homeland Security to be valid documentary evidence of lawful presence in the United States under federal immigration law; or

(7) Verification of lawful presence as provided by Code Section 40-5-21.2

may be issued a temporary license, permit, or special identification card. Such temporary license, permit, or special identification card shall be valid only during the period of time of the applicant's authorized stay in the United States or five years, whichever occurs first.

(b) A driver's license or identification card issued by any state or territory which, on or after July 1, 2006, authorized such driver's license or identification card to be issued to persons not lawfully present in the United States may not be accepted as evidence of legal presence in the United States.

(c) Any noncitizen applicant whose Georgia driver's license or identification card has expired, or will expire within 30 days, who has filed, or on whose behalf has been filed, a request for an extension with the United States Department of Homeland Security, or similar such federal issuing agency, for time to remain lawfully within the United States shall be issued a temporary driving permit or identification card valid for 120 days from the date of the expiration of his or her valid driver's license or identification card. The noncitizen applicant shall be required to present evidence of the application for extension by submitting a copy or copies of documentation designated by the department. A temporary driving permit or identification card shall be issued upon submission of the required documentation and an application fee in an amount to be determined by the department. Upon the expiration of the temporary driving permit or identification card, no further consecutive temporary permits or identification cards shall be authorized; provided, however, application may be made following the expiration of an additional valid Georgia driver's license or identification card.

Rules and Regulations, Department of Drivers Services, Chapter 375-3-2

375-3-2-.01 Expiration of License and Identification Card: When Licenses and Identification Cards May Be Renewed. Revised.
(1)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this regulation, licenses and identification cards issued to citizens of the United States expire on the person’s birthday in the fifth (5th) or eighth (8th) year after issuance.
(b)
(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (c), any person who is not a citizen of the United States who provides proof of lawful presence in the United States that satisfies the requirements of O.C.G.A. §§40-5-21.1(a), 40-5-21.2 and Ga. Admin. Comp. Ch. 375-3-1-.02 and is otherwise eligible for the issuance of a driver’s license or identification card may be issued a temporary driver’s license, permit, or special identification card. Such temporary driver’s license, permit, or special identification card shall be valid only during the lesser of the period of time of the applicant’s authorized stay in the United States as reflected on such documentation or five (5) years, and shall reflect that it is issued for a limited term.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), the Department shall not accept an employment authorization document as proof of lawful presence if such person is subject to an order for removal from the United States, an order of supervision, or who is otherwise determined to not be lawfully present in the United States based upon information provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
(c)
(i) Any person who presents immigration documentation that does not bear an expiration date shall be eligible for a temporary driver’s license, permit, or special identification card valid for one (1) year unless the person’s immigration documentation, as confirmed pursuant to O.C.G.A. §40-5-21.2, indicates that he or she is an approved asylee or refugee.
(ii) Asylees and refugees holding verifiable immigration documentation thereof that does not bear an expiration date shall be eligible for a temporary driver’s license, permit, or special identification card valid for five (5) years.
(iii) Non-citizen customers who have a temporary driver’s license, permit, or special card that has expired or will expire within thirty (30) days of making application for renewal may be issued a temporary extension thereof valid for 120 days if they present documentation showing that they have applied for, but not received, an extension of their previously verified lawful immigration status.
(d) No temporary license, permit, or special identification card issued pursuant to this regulation shall be renewed by any means other than in person.
(See http://www.dds.ga.gov/rules/rules.aspx?chap=375-3-2&rule=375-3-2-.01&head=375-3 -for complete rule)